Jack’s Winning Words 5/25/16
“When it rains soup the poor man has no spoon.”  (Swedish Proverb)  The Capuchin friars in Detroit trace their heritage back to St Francis of Assisi who had a special concern for the poor.  The Detroit Soup Kitchen has been going since 1929 and has served as many as 2000 people daily.  That’s a lot of soup.  Instead of eating at a sumptuous table on Thanksgiving Day, a church member would take his sons to work with him at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen.    ;-)  Jack

FROM ME IN NEWPORT BEACH:  Nice idea.  Will suggest that to my wife and children for our family.  Grandsons at 8 and 5 probably too young.  Granddaughter at 11 probably at right age. ====JACK:  You never know how and when a tradition starts.  Another friend of mine would sign up to be a Salvation Army bell ringer during the holidays and take his children with him.

FROM HONEST JOHN:  Our church used to sponsor a dinner for the seniors of Clawson...the men did the cooking, serving, etc.   we had a ball doing it.====JACK:  All those in need of such a mean are not necessarily the homeless...and they can be the servers, too.

FROM HAWKEYE GEORGE:  Amen.====JACK:  Do you "see" any homeless in your community?  ====HG:  Our church has a very good ministry for prisoners in East Moline and homeless thru Harvest Bible Chapel, Davt.====JACK:  Have you ever gone to see it firsthand?  If not, it might prove to be a rewarding experience.====HG:  I'm a little busy as it is now. Good friends are in both places.

FROM RI IN BOSTON:  Boston has its share of "homeless" persons, populating the major intersections with their cardboard signs, requesting coins to help them.  From time to time a reporter from The Boston Globe will talk with them about their experiences...how they deal with bad weather, how they manage personal care, and how they fare getting "income".  They've been willing to discuss where they stash their bedding during the day, the isolated spots they choose to sleep at night, and the money they generally take in to survive on.  I was surprised to find that many of them get $80 a day.  It made me think, "why am I giving to them?"  Well, it's because I and others give to them that they survive, so when I see them at the intersection, I continue to submit and hand them a little support. ====JACK:  There will always be reasons to pass by.  In Luke 9:57 ff, we read...Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go."  And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."  Then He said to another, “Follow Me.”  But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”  Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”  And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”  But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”  As the saying goes...You win some; you lose some.

FROM MY LAWYER:  A friend of mine in Boca Raton, FL volunteers at "Helping Hands".  He's a "cook" and works on Mondays.  They get food donated from all the major restaurants in the area, as well as grocery stores.  They serve 3,000 needy people per day!!!  Ruths' Chris and the Capitol Grille are among their most generous donors.====JACK:  Might you consider going with your friend sometime to see "first-hand" what it's like?  Do you remember the TV ad for Life cereal?  The two brothers try to get Mikey (who hates everything) to "try" the cereal.  He likes it!  It can be that way with a visit to the BR soup kitchen, too.

FROM TARMART REV:  I remember the early apostles were very much concerned that this new apostle on the scene, Saul who become Paul, would always remember the poor (Galatians 2:10). I remember hearing of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen . . . being reminded of it today disappoints me that I never visited it during those nine years I was in Detroit area. 0;-/====JACK:  Are there any soup kitchens in your community, or places where the needy gather?  I know that you help people during the holidays.  What other help is available during the rest of the year?====REV:  We have a local Food Shelf in Willmar, a church that distributes food once a month on their grounds and 3-4 churches alternate providing a Sunday evening meal during certain seasons of the year.  I have a D Q card given me from the owner that can be used as well when one is in need of a meal. Not bad for our small community.

FROM MM IN FLORIDA:  Thank you so much.====JACK:  I hear that there are a lot of street people in Florida.  How is it where you live?

FROM SBP IN FLORIDA:  Back at the onset of desegregation I was the Title I teacher at a school that was to become quickly desegregated. Felt that we needed to have some sort of gathering event. So, we planned a soup supper. There were a great many in attendance, and we early on ran out of soup. We continued the "suppers" with a lot more soup as well as soup lovers. Soon the attendance became integrated. The kids intermingled. More people, more soup. Soon there were integrated tables. The soup supper became a tradition until the school was close. Buses took over.====JACK:  In our neighborhood, 3 churches, Lutheran, Catholic and Methodist decided to meet together during 3 Wednesdays in Lent for a worship service in the tradition of the congregation where the service was taking place.  This was preceded by a soup supper prepared by the members of the host congregation.  It was a good way to get acquainted with one another...and the various kinds of soups were a hit.  The brief worship service helped us focus on the reason for the season.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  Our family has a tradition of helping the hungry and homeless from as far back as my great grandfather.  He opened a "poor house" for widows, widowers, the jobless and the homeless.  My grandmother worked there as did my father and his sisters.  Life lessons learned there was shared to the whole family.  Our family has worked for Gleaners many times, we have sponsored children, worked for the Marysville soup kitchen and food pantry.  Even our little grandkids have worked collecting and packing food.  I'm sure we could do a lot more, though ....perhaps we will look into something else....we are all called to help.====JACK:  In the community where I began my ministry the elderly and infirm who had little or no money were cared for at the "poor farm."  The origin of the word, poor, is from the Old French poure and from Latin pauper.  The poor were buried in the cemetery in pauper's graves.  I like the biblical story of the rich man and Lazarus.